


the sweetest thing

by sweetsindle



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aster's nickname is Bluebird, Baking, Baldroy - mentioned, Birthday Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Mild Swearing, Mother-Son Relationship, No one died on the night of their b-day but they were attacked that night, One Shot, Prankster Phantomhive Twins, Sibling Bonding, Tanaka - mentioned, i wrote this fic for me but u all can read along if it vibes, it's Rachel's birthday and the teen Phantomhive Twins bake her some cookies!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23156629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetsindle/pseuds/sweetsindle
Summary: ɪᴛ'ꜱ ʀᴀᴄʜᴇʟ ᴘʜᴀɴᴛᴏᴍʜɪᴠᴇ'ꜱ ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴇᴇɴ ᴛᴡɪɴꜱ ᴄɪᴇʟ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀꜱᴛᴇʀ ᴀʀᴇ ᴏɴ ᴀ Qᴜᴇꜱᴛ - ᴛᴏ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴡᴇᴇᴛᴇꜱᴛ ᴏɴᴇ ꜱʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ʜᴀᴅ!
Relationships: Ciel Phantomhive & Real Ciel Phantomhive, Phantomhive Twins & Rachel Phantomhive
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	the sweetest thing

**Author's Note:**

> yeah ik it says they made her cookies in the tags, but tbh I completely forgot as I wrote it 😩😔

"Do you even know what you're doing, Ciel?"

"Yeah, duh! This is me; we're talking about, Aster!"

Aster Phantomhive stared at his older twin brother, 13-year-old Ciel, in complete and utter disbelief as he watched him pull down several ingredients from the kitchen's shelves. "That was what, six years ago? We were seven! And Uncle Deidrich was there to help - you and Father have no bloody idea how to cook, let alone bake - can't we ask Chef Baldroy for assistance-"

"What, are you mad?"

"What?!"

"This is for Mother! It's supposed to be special! How would it be special if he did it?"

"I...didn't suggest he do it?! I meant like; he shows us how, so we don't blow up the kitchen like he does whenever he has access to those explosives of his!" Aster argued back, his ashy-blue eyebrow twitching in annoyance, crossing his arms as Ciel continued to ignore his reasonable protests over the whole thing.

Ciel looked at every ingredient, seemingly trying to organize each and everyone in their separate groups - the dry with their own, and the wet in another. 

"Do you even know what we're supposed to use...?"

"Sort of! I know the basics - maybe..." Ciel said, confident despite the apparent lack of knowledge for literally everything he was trying to do right now. "I think it needs flour, right? Eggs, butter? That kind of stuff?"

"Why don't we just use a recipe instead of bloody guessing?! Chef Bard's cookbook is RIGHT HERE-" Aster urged, sharply pointing to a nearby leather-bound book on another counter, before grabbing it. 

The younger twin laid it down on the center table and looked in the messily penned 'table of contents' and found the section for deserts, spotting a recipe for vanilla cake. "How about we make her vanilla cake, Ciel? I feel like it's more simple than any other kind, and because of that, hopefully, it's a bit easier...and edible once it's done. The hard part is going to be following the directions to a T...considering you don't like following them."

"Hey!"

"What, it's the truth! For you, if it's not your rules, then you don't have to follow them - and that's just not how things work!" Aster said, flipping to the page for the vanilla cake he had mentioned only a minute earlier. "How about I read off the ingredients, and you fetch the ones we actually need and put back the ones we don't."

"But, Aster, come on! Where's the fun in that?"

"You want to make a cake that Mother can eat without getting food poisoning, correct?"

"Ah...yes..."

"Then, for once, you're going to listen to me, and we're following directions! I want this to go as _perfect_ as possible!"

"Ugh...but why?"

The teen stared blankly at Ciel, who gave with a slight grin. 

"Why are you like this?"

"Awwww, come on, Aster! Why are you always so serious! I'm just trying to have a bit of fun!" Ciel said with a sigh, shrugging. "Anyways, sure! Lay it on me!"

"Tch, tch..." Aster mumbled, giving Ciel yet another look before looking back to the recipe book. "Butter."

Ciel nodded, and rushed to the icebox and pulled some out that had just been put there (the kitchen staff was fully aware of what the twins were wanting to do and helped them a bit before they had come down) and set it down on the counter. "Why are you going so slow?"

"I'm just making sure your paying attention...consider that's not your strong suit-"

"Oi'!"

"Heh..." Aster smiled a bit, resting his chin on his fisted knuckle. Looking back down to the book, he continued. "Peanut oil, sugar, four eggs..."

As Aster read off the list, one by one, Ciel ran around the kitchen, collecting every item that his younger brother had mentioned - accidentally forgetting a few, forcing Aster to repeat some, much to his annoyance.

"Ciel! Pay attention! I said 'salt' and 'vanilla' at least four times, and each time you always forget it!" Aster groaned, eyeing the pile of baking supplies on the nearby counter with uncertainty about how this all would even play out due to his brother making this longer than it had to be. "Forget one more time, and I'm not letting you borrow my shoes anymore!"

"Hey, that's not fair! You always get the better ones!"

"It's not my fault you don't take the time to talk to Nina about what you want!"

"Ughhh....whatever. I'm trying my best, Aster! Can't you see that!" Ciel protested, grabbing the jar of salt and setting it down next to his younger brother. "You always seem so tired of me! I don't understand why?"

"You don't understand why?" Aster asked, giving Ciel a blank look. "You may be trying harder, but there's no progress. I'm not Tanaka! It's not my job to remind you of things you need to do all the time, yet here I am! You hardly listen to anyone!" 

"I know, I know! I'm working on it!" He groaned, getting a stool. He climbed atop of it, and open a nearby cabinet, producing a glass bottle of vanilla. "I'm, truly, honestly trying to do better!"

"Mhmm-hm...sure." Aster sighed, shaking his head before standing up straight, and making his way to the counter that Ciel had put the majority of ingredients on. 

He looked at the pile of ingredients, then to Ciel - who gave him an awkward smile - and then back to the book, rereading the recipe list. "As I read the list aloud, say 'check' if their there, alright!"

Ciel nodded, clearly very, very excited - surprising. After scoldings like this from his little brother, he was usually pretty gloomy after the fact. Perhaps the activity at hand overshone what had happened? "Mhm-hm! Got it!"

"Are you quite certain that you do, hmm?"

Ciel turned a heel and gave his brother a look, placing his hands on his hips. "Yes, I promise! I'm paying attention!"

Aster grinned at his brother, making Ciel lose his frown and gain a similar smile. "Just messing with you. Butter?"

"Check!"

"Oil?"

"Check!"

"Sugar?"

"Mhm-hm!"

"Eggs?"

"Yes!"

"Vanilla?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Flour?"

"Check!"

"Baking powder?"

"Check!"

"Salt?"

"Check!"

"Buttermilk?"

"Check!"

Looking up from the book, Aster smiled slightly and nodded. "Then, we have everything! Everything else has been set out, so what do you think? We start?"

"It depends," Ciel said, leaning against the counter with a grin. "Are you going to follow the directions?"

Aster froze, blinked for a second, and then dropped the book on the counter before facing his brother and giving him a hearty SMACK across the face.

* * *

"Ciel, that isn't the right amount!"

"It isn't?" Ciel asked in confusion, still rubbing his cheek in pain after the smack from earlier. He leaned over, checking the worn-down book, and sighed. "Are you bloody kidding me?! I thought that it was two cups of flour!"

"In what world?! I told you three!"

"How much is three?!"

"OW!"

Aster giggled, smirking as his older brother hastily grabbed the measuring cup that he had oh-so-lovingly thrown at him, which had ended up oh-so-gracefully hitting Ciel on the head. 

"Was that necessary?!"

"To see your face right now?! Yes!"

"God, you're lucky, you're my little brother!" Ciel groaned in annoyance, now not only nursing a sore cheek but forehead as well. 

"Oops! Maybe!" Aster grinned, before adding the approximate amount of vanilla they needed. He took the whisk they had been using for wet ingredients and spun it until it was well-mixed with the other at ingredients he had already whisked in. 

After finishing up what he needed to do, he walked over to the icebox and scooped out some ice (it was for emergencies - medical stuff, burns - you name it) and placed it in a clean cloth, and wrapped it up.

Ice bundle in hand, Aster made his way to his brother, who was hastily adding the dry ingredients, all while /very intensely/ staring at the cookbook next to him as he did so.

The younger teen smiled awkwardly and quietly apologized to Ciel.

He carefully held the bundle to Ciel's forehead (the area that he thought most likely hurt the most) and held it there for several seconds before gently moving to his cheek for the same amount of time. "You're doing well, Ciel."

"Really?" Ciel asked, giving his brother a look as he added in the last of the dry ingredients, reasonably irritated from getting hit in the head with a measuring cup. 

"I'm sorry for hitting you, Ciel," Aster said, moving the bundle back to his brother's forehead. "I just thought it would be sort of humorous-"

"Humorous for you, maybe-"

"Oh-"

Ciel turned his head, and gave his little brother a look, earning a sly grin. 

"What?"

"Tch."

"What's that for? You pushed me out of a tree two days ago! I sprained my wrist and got an array of cuts everywhere! And it was because you thought it would be funny! Lighten up!" Aster said with a sigh, before taking the bowl of dry ingredients to the bowl of wet and setting it down.

"Ugh...I suppose so," Ciel groaned, trailing after Aster, dusty whisk in hand. "I'm sorry about yesterday...And you're forgiven. We're even!" 

"You already apologized like a million times! It's fine!" He smiled, taking the whisk out of Ciel's hand and hugging him - it not be long at all until it was returned.

* * *

"How are you so much better than me at this?! Your art skills are horrible!"

Ciel laughed and piped another shell, finishing the bottom border on the cake before looking back up at Aster, who was currently mixing yet another batch of vanilla frosting. "What, jealous that I'm better than you?"

"Oh, shut up!" 

"Haaaaaa~ you're jealous!" 

"Quiet, you!" Aster snapped, making the last few stirs, thus, finally finishing the last batch. 

"Well, to be fair...Icing and sketching are two entirely different things..." Ciel reasoned with a slight smile, trying to comfort his /very irritated/ younger brother. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Aster said with a sigh, smiling softly - grabbing a spoon and scooping up some fresh frosting - and flicking it into Ciel's hair.

_"ASTER!"_

"Hahaha, you should see the look on your face!"

* * *

"Oh my...You boys have that look on your faces...what did you two do this time?" Miss Rachel Phantomhive, the twin's mother, asked with a playful as she crossed her arms. The very second that her sons came into the room, they had _that_ aura. 

_That_ aura, you ask?

Whenever they did something, particularly sneaky, you always got this strange feeling - it didn't help that they were horrible at hiding it. 

"Well, what did you do this time? Paint in your governess's hair again? Switching places to confuse Tanaka? Making it, so everyone thinks this manor is haunted...? Again?" She asked, trying her best to act stern but failing miserably as she noticed the looks on her son's faces. 

Ciel and Aster looked at each other, trying their best to hide both their smiles. How would she react? Would she like they do? They sure hoped so! 

"I um...not this time, Mama..." Ciel said, biting the inside of his cheek as he struggled back one of his usual grins. "It wasn't a prank, we promise!"

"Mhm-hm! No, pranks!" Aster nodded along, holding his hands behind his back.

"Uh-huh...sure you didn't. Ciel, I know you and Aster like the back of my hand. You've done something. What is it?"

"You sound like your angry-"

"Not really - I don't have a reason to be. You two usually give me a reason to, with all your pranks! Yes, it is, uh..." Rachel had to stop herself, letting out a few giggles. "Rather hilarious if I do say so myself! But not everyone appreciates it!"

"I guess so-" Ciel said, suddenly gaining a smile, looking to his younger brother, who soon learned the same one. "But this time, we promise it's not a prank. Honest, we do! It's for your birthday, anyhow. Why would we prank you? That's cruel! We just wanted to get it to you before your party today!"

"Do you really, Ciel?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow, earning an innocent nod from her older son. She turned to Aster and gave him the same suspicious look. "What about you, Bluebird?"

"I promise, Mama! Nothing! It's good! We did something for you that we worked hard on!"

"You sure?"

The twins looked at each other and giggled, nodding to each other, before nodding to her. "Yes!" They chirped together, giving her their brightest smiles.

"Mhm...I suppose so. You didn't have to, you know. But I'm very grateful you thought of me, angels. You know how much I love you two!" Rachel nodded, letting go of her stern look, and gaining her usual, peaceful smile. 

"We love you too, Mama! One second!" Aster and Ciel said together before grabbing each other's hand and running off to get something - and what it was (the cake they had made earlier), she had no idea! 

The brothers rushed to where they had left the cake - in it's vanilla, patchily-iced, glory! 

Together, the twins very carefully grabbed two edges of the plate the cake was on, each, and together (trying not to go faster than one another, or anything of the sort), they walked back into the room Rachel was in - immediately earning a shocked gasp.

"I...what?" Rachel asked, clearly stunned by the big, fluffy thing. She got up from her seat to look at it, and immediately smiled - one of her biggest ever, and started to giggle, holding her pristine hands to her mouth in surprise. "You...Did my boys do this? For me?!"

The twins looked to each other and grinned, before looking back to her. "We love you so, so much, Mama. _Happy Birthday!"_


End file.
